The present invention relates to the manufacturing of drill bit assemblies for use in oil, gas and geothermal drilling. Drill bits typically have a number of cutting elements brazed onto a drill bit body. Such cutting elements generally comprise a diamond surface bonded to a carbide substrate, which substrate is generally brazed into pocket formed in the body of the drill bit.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,144 to Barr et al., which is herein incorporated by reference for all that it contains, discloses a method of mounting a cutter, having a stud portion defining one end thereof and a cutting formation generally adjacent the other end, in a pocket in a drill bit body member. The method includes the steps of forming a channel extending into the pocket, inserting brazing material into the channel, inserting the stud portion of the cutter assembly into the pocket, then heating the bit body member to cause the brazing material to flow through the channel into the pocket, and finally re-cooling the bit body member. During the assembly of the various pieces required in the steps mentioned immediately above, a spring is used, cooperative between the cutter and the bit body member, to retain the stud portion in the pocket and also to displace the stud portion toward the trailing side of the pocket.